Book Review: 'Drop Dead Healthy' by A.J. Jacobs

A story about extraordinary measures as published in the April 2012 issue

by Lynn Schnurnberger

Photograph: Bryan McCay

He found religion in The Year of Living Biblically and honed his intelligence in The Know-It-All. The latest frontier for author A.J. Jacobs: maximum longevity. In Drop Dead Healthy (Simon & Schuster), he endures shoeless jogs and immerses himself in pole-dancing classes—even replaceshis toilet with a squatting device (on the theory that sitting produces hemorrhoids). While Jacobs’s attempts at health enlightenment can be hilarious, visits with his grandfather, famed labor lawyer Theodore Kheel, provide the most revealing glimpse into the secrets of aging well.